Samlexpower SI-A1-VR1500 Owner's Manual - 4 . Operating Tips
4 . OPERATING TIPS
RATED VERSUS ACTUAL CURRENT DRAW OF EQUIPMENT
Most electrical tools, appliances and audio/video equipment have labels that
indicate the power consumption in amps or watts. Be sure that the power
consumption of the item you wish to operate is rated at 1500/2000/3000 watts
or less. (If the power consumption is rated in amps AC, simply multiply by the
AC volts (115) to determine the wattage). Resistive loads are the easiest for
the inverter to run. However, larger resistive loads, such as electric stoves or
heaters, usually require more wattage than the inverter can deliver. Inductive
loads, such as TV’s and stereos, require more current to operate than do
resistive loads of the same wattage rating. Induction motors, as well as
some televisions, may require 2 to 6 times their wattage rating to start up.
The most demanding in this category are those that start under load, such as
compressors and pumps.
DETERMINING BATTERY SIZE
To determine the minimum battery size that you will need to operate appliances
from the power inverters, follow these steps:
1. Determine the wattage of each appliance and/or tool you will need to
simultaneously operate from the inverter. To do this, read the labels on the
equipment to be operated. Usually, power consumption is shown in watts.
If it is shown in amps, multiply by 115 to determine the wattage.
2. Estimate the number of hours the equipment will be in use between
battery recharges.
3. Determine the total watt-hours of energy use, the total running time and
the average power consumption.
To get an estimate of the current (in amps) that the battery must be capable of
delivering, divide the load consumption power (in watts) by (10).
Keep in mind that most appliances are not operating for long periods of time. For
example, a typical home-use coffee maker draws 500 watts during its brew time
of 5 minutes, but it maintains the temperature of the pot at about 100 watts.
Typical use of a microwave is only for a few minutes, sometimes at low power.
Some exceptions to brief operating times are lamps, TVs and computers.
In most instances, the inverter can be left connected to the battery when not in
use, make sure power switch is in the OFF position.
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